Hearts in Hyperdrive
by ceon1717
Summary: Erayon Maebara is an up and coming turbo duelist with his eyes on the prize. But when he starts to realize his feelings for one of his friends, will he keep his eyes on the prize, or will he just let his heart beat in hyperdrive?
1. Heart Your Engines

"It needs a new CPU and the engine needs a bit of an upgrade," Erayon said to himself. "Now that I think about it, it needs a bit of frame work too."

Erayon Maebara loved two things; dueling and mechanics. He would do whatever it takes to help people, no matter what the cost. He was the type of person who puts almost everybody before himself. His selflessness was remarkable, much like his dueling skills. His two decks were similar to Aster Phoenix's and Zane Truesdale's, with some Tuners and Synchros added in. Both decks shared one monster in particular. It was his favorite monster, given to Erayon by his father before he died. It was called Eviator Dragon, a very powerful level 5 Tuner/Synchro DARK attribute Dragon type monster. Erayon's mother was still alive and was very comforting towards Erayon, before and after her husband's death. Erayon still lived with his mother in New Domino City, as she was very ill and he wanted to take care of her with the time she had left.

Erayon was working on his duel runner. The runner's design looked like a red and black hybrid of Jack Atlas' Wheel of Fortune and Antinomy's Omega Hawk. Erayon had developed the hybrid himself, which he called the Energized Epsilon. He came to the conclusion that he needed to get a new CPU unit for his runner as well as an upgrade for the engine. He also felt it could use a new coat of paint to make it look better. He locked up the garage, and had been walking for about ten minutes when a familiar voice called out to him.

"Hey Erayon!" a girl's voice said loudly, as the owner of the voice ran up to Erayon.

Erayon turned to face the girl. "Oh, hey Akiza. What's up?" he asked the girl.

"Not much…" Akiza said. "I was just going to see you, but you seem a bit busy."

"I'm not that busy. I was just going to get some new parts for my runner. Might as well be ready for the upcoming of the Fortune Cup, right?" he said, smiling a bit.

"You got invited to the Fortune Cup, too? So did I," she said, smiling a bit as well. "The winner is supposed to face Yusei, who is the current champion."

"That would definitely be interesting to see. I'd love to face him in the finals." Erayon said. "Although, I'd rather face you in the finals, Akiza."

She blushed slightly. "Y-Yeah… Anyways, can I help you get the parts? I also need to work on my runner a bit as well."

"Sure. In fact, if you want, I could help you with it." Erayon replied. "After I install the CPU and the engine upgrade, then my runner will be all set, and that won't take me too long."

"I'd love for you to help. " she said, her face still a little red. Together, they then continued towards the parts shop.

The shop was cluttered with every duel-runner part you could think of. Engines, body parts, coolants, wheels, CPUs, boosters, accessories, you name it.

Erayon searched for the upgrade to the engine while Akiza searched for the CPU unit. They were the only two customers when they each found the parts they were looking for.

"Found it!" they called to each other, laughing slightly when they realized they said it at the same time. Erayon walked over to the aisle that Akiza, they went to the counter to pay for the parts and left together. They then together walked back to Erayon's garage to install the parts to his runner.

Erayon used his new laptop that he had built in a second CD drive into and started to install the programs for the engine upgrade and the CPU unit simultaneously. While the programs were being installed, he made quick work of the spray paint job. Akiza stood by and observed. Ceon looked to her, smiled and asked her if she wanted to help as well. She was happy to and she painted one side of the runner while he painted the other.

Just as they had finished the painting, the programs finished installing. Erayon checked his laptop to make sure this was the case. "There… It's all set. All I have to do is test drive it. I can easily do that tomorrow," Erayon said, then faced Akiza. "Want me to help you with yours now?" he asked her.

"Of course," she said, smiling a bit. Ceon went upstairs to tell his mother where he was off to, locked the garage and left with Akiza. As they were walking, Akiza looked over to Erayon. "How is she doing?" she asked Erayon, asking how his mother was.

"It's slowly getting worse, but she is still alive and optimistic, just like I am." Erayon replied. "The doctor said it's very unlikely she can be cured, and she may have about a year left at the most, but she thinks she can still beat it. I really hope she is right…" he continued.

Akiza sighed softly. "So do I," she replied. She felt sympathetic towards Erayon. Her parents may have treated her harshly as a child, but she still had both of her parents. However, in Erayon's case, his parents treated him kindly as a child, but his father had already passed away and his mother was close to passing away as well.

They arrived at Akiza's house a few minutes later. They quickly got to work and within an hour, Akiza's runner was all set as well. She smiled when she saw the finished product.

"Thank you so much for the help, Erayon," she said happily and hugged Erayon. The sudden embrace surprised Erayon, his face turning a little red as well as Akiza's when she realized exactly what just happened.

"It's n-no problem," he replied. "You are my friend, after all. I was more than happy to help," he continued, the redness in his face slowly fading.

"Y-Yeah…" she said, the redness in her face fading as well. "Should we test it out now?" she asked.

"Normally, I'd say yes, but we should wait until tomorrow. It's getting pretty late," he said, yawning softly. "I'm just going to head home and get some sleep. We could test drive both of our runners tomorrow. How about we meet up around noon by the Combat Lane?" he asked her.

"Sounds good to me. See you then," she replied, smiling.

He smiled as he left her garage. As she did, she locked up and went to her room to get some sleep.

_Erayon…_ she thought to herself, her face turning red again as she fell asleep.

_Akiza…_ Erayon thought when he got home and went to bed, his face turning slightly red as well as he fell asleep.


	2. Riding Through Love and War

Morning broke, and Erayon woke up slowly. He slowly went to the kitchen, made eggs and toast for his mother and brought it into her bedroom. She thanked him as she ate. Erayon smiled to see that his mother seemed to be feeling a little better. He brought his own breakfast into the bedroom as well so he could eat with his mother.

"So, are you feeling any better?" Erayon asked her.

"Well, I have a bit of my appetite back," she replied.

"It's a start, at the very least…" Erayon said, sighing softly. "I just wish you were feeling completely better."

"Erayon, no matter what happens, there will come a time where I will be feeling completely better," she replied. "I know that you don't want to look at the situation like this, but we have to face the facts."

"What happened to your positive attitude?" Erayon asked. "What happened to you always saying that you will get better?"

"Erayon, please listen. If I were going to be getting better, I would have started to be getting better by now. The doctor said I have about a year left. That was eleven months ago. It's time to realize that I am dying, and nothing is going to change that." she said.

"T-That's not true. The doctor said there is another doctor who could easily help you," Erayon said, sounding hurt.

"Yes, but that doctor charges far too much for his services. We could never afford him," his mother said.

"The Fortune Cup! I'll win the Fortune Cup and use that money to pay for the doctor. I promise you, I will win the Fortune Cup, and you will be saved." Erayon said, determined to keep this promise. He then left the room, opened his garage, got on his duel runner and took off to the Combat Lane.

Akiza had woken up already and had breakfast. She was already at the Combat Lane at 11:00, excited to test her runner with Erayon. She smiled when she saw him arrive as well. "You're here early… Not that I mind," she said, smiling.

"I could say the same to you," Erayon said. "We should have a duel on the Combat Lane. Might as well get some more practice in while we have the chance."

"Good point." she said, getting into her duel runner. She drove onto the Combat Lane alongside Erayon. She put her deck into her runner's shuffler as Erayon did the same with his deck. Erayon got the authorization for them to use the Combat Lane. Cars pulled off of the Combat Lane as the two started riding.

"Speed World 2, activate!" they both called out as the Field Spells were activated.

"I'll let you go first." Erayon said to Akiza.

"Fine by me." she said as she drew her cards. "I summon my Witch of the Black Rose in Attack mode. I set one card facedown and end my turn." Akiza said, their life points both at 4000 and Speed Counters at 1.

"My turn now… I draw!" Erayon said, as their Speed counters rose to 2. "Now, because you have a Monster on your field and my field is empty, I can special summon my Cyber Dragon from my hand. Then I activate the Speed Spell, Foolish Burial. Since I have 2 Speed Counters, I can send one monster from my deck to the Graveyard. I choose my Level Eater." He said as he pulled the card and put it in the graveyard.

_Level Eater? What is he up to?_ Akiza thought.

"Now, I use my Level Eater's effect. Since my Cyber Dragon is a level 5 monster, by reducing the level of it to 4, I can special summon Level Eater from my Graveyard," Erayon said as he summoned the monster. "Then, I use the effect of Cyber Granmal in my hand. By banishing the card in my hand from play, I can change Cyber Dragon's attribute from LIGHT to DARK."

_It's a good thing Level Eater isn't a Tuner… Wait. He never normal summoned yet!_ Akiza thought.

"I normal summon the Tuner monster, Effect Veiler. Now, I tune my now level 4 and DARK Cyber Dragon with my level 1 Effect Veiler," Erayon said. "The darkness of the dragon's wing is powered by the shadow of that wing… I Synchro Summon, Eviator Dragon!" he called out as the dragon was summoned.

_He summoned his favorite monster… on his first turn!?_ Akiza thought.

"I activate my dragon's first effect. When it is Synchro Summoned, it immediately destroys a card on the field. I choose your facedown." Erayon said, as the dragon destroyed her Magic Cylinder trap. "Now, Eviator Dragon, attack her witch with Akashic Flames!" he called out to his dragon as the dragon attacked her witch, destroying it. Akiza's life points dropped to 3650 as they continued. "Next comes my dragon's second effect. Since it was able to destroy your monster, I get to draw a card. With that, I end my turn by setting two cards facedown."

"I'm impressed, Erayon. Didn't expect you to summon your star monster on your first turn. Now, let's see what happens with my turn. I draw!" she said, as their Speed counters rose to three. "I set four cards facedown, and use the effect of the last card in my hand. Since it is the only card left in my hand, I special summon my Witch of the Black Rose!"

"Again?" Erayon asked.

"Yes, again. Then comes her other effect. Since it was special summoned like this, I get to draw a card. If it's a Spell or Trap card, I have to discard it and my Witch will be destroyed. But if it is a Monster, I'm safe." she said, drawing her card. "Even better. I just drew my Rose Fairy, and since it was drawn by a special effect, I can summon it right away. Next, I activate the Speed Spell that I set, Angel's Baton. So, I get to draw two cards, and then discard one," she said as she drew her two and discarded one. "Now, I tune my level 4 Witch of the Black Rose with my level 3 Rose Fairy." Akiza said. "Let the flowers of the earth bloom into passionate flames, and give those flames wings to soar… I Synchro Summon, Black Rose Dragon!" she said, as her dragon appeared.

"Well, well… I am quite impressed." Erayon said.

"You've seen nothing yet. And you'll continue to see nothing when I use my Black Rose Dragon's special ability to destroy every single card on the field. Now, my dragon, use your Black Rose Gale!" she called out as every single card on the field was destroyed. "Also, I never normal summoned a monster yet, so I summon my Dark Verger in Defense mode and end my turn."

Erayon drew a card as their Speed Counters rose to four. He blinked when he saw the card he drew. "Sorry to do this, Akiza. I activate the Speed Spell, Monster Reincarnation. So, by removing 2 Speed Counters and discarding my Cyber Kirin, I can take Cyber Dragon out of my Graveyard and put it back in my hand."

"So, you're going to summon Cyber Dragon with its effect?" Akiza asked, thinking she was right.

"Not quite. Yes, I am summoning a Cyber Dragon, but not the one you know. I activate the Speed Spell, Power Bond! With it, I remove my other 2 Speed Counters, and I can fuse the three Cyber Dragons in my hand…" Erayon said, as he discarded his three Cyber Dragons. "Now, I summon the powerful Cyber End Dragon!" he said as his metallic three-headed dragon appeared.

"Wow… 4000 attack points. It's a good thing my monster is in Defense." Akiza said, with a sigh of relief.

"Actually, it doesn't matter much, for two reasons. First off, because my Cyber End Dragon was summoned due to Power Bond, its attack points are automatically doubled. But, at the end of my turn, I lose life points equal to the original attack points of my dragon." Erayon said, as the dragon rose to 8000 attack points.

"Well, I'm still safe, because my Verger is in Defense." Akiza replied.

"The second reason is my Cyber End Dragon's ability. Thanks to his effect, if Cyber End Dragon's attack points are higher than Dark Verger's defense points, the difference is still dealt to your life points as damage."

"W-What?" Akiza asked sounding a bit worried.

"And seeing how Dark Verger's defense is only 1000, and your life points are only at 3650, I think this duel is done. Cyber End Dragon, attack her Dark Verger with Super Strident Blaze and end this duel!" Erayon called out as the three-headed dragon launched its attack, destroying Dark Verger on impact and reducing Akiza's life points from 3650 to 0. The two exited the Combat Lane as Cyber End Dragon disappeared.

"I'm surprised, Erayon. I didn't expect you to win in only two turns." Akiza said, upset slightly by the fact she lost, but happy that it was a fun duel and that she got to spend some time with Erayon.

"Thank you. I had fun," Erayon said, smiling. "I was lucky to draw Cyber Granmal when I did for Eviator Dragon. If I hadn't, I wouldn't have gotten Cyber End Dragon."

"How do you figure?" Akiza asked.

"Well, if I didn't use Granmal, I couldn't use Eviator Dragon." Erayon replied.

"Because Eviator needs a DARK attribute non-Tuner…" Akiza said.

"Exactly. When I destroyed Witch of the Black Rose with Eviator Dragon, I drew a card. By the time Cyber End Dragon was summoned, I had no cards left in my hand. So, without Granmal, I wouldn't have had the cards needed for Cyber End Dragon." Erayon explained.

"Now that I think about it, there are no DARK attribute monsters in your deck, is there?" Akiza asked.

"Other than Cyber Granmal, Dark Resonator and Eviator Dragon, I have none at all." Erayon admitted.

"So, no DARK non-Tuners makes it very hard to summon Eviator Dragon. So, why have it in your deck, if I may ask?" Akiza asked, sounding really curious.

"Just before my father died, he gave me two Eviator Dragons. In his eyes, together the dragons were the same. In a poetic way to put it, it's 'like father like son'. So, I have two decks, each with an Eviator Dragon in it that I try to summon with every duel I face." Erayon said.

"That makes sense. It helps to keep the memory of him alive." Akiza mentioned.

"Precisely. But there's something I want you to see." Erayon said as they got off of their runners at Akiza's place.

"What is it?" Akiza asked.

Erayon took out both of his decks and showed them to her. Akiza looked through them both.

"Your Cyber Dragon deck is a LIGHT deck with a few DARK monsters, and your Destiny Hero deck is a DARK deck with a few LIGHT monsters. They are polar opposites." Akiza said as she noticed this fact.

Erayon nodded. "The Cyber Dragon deck was my mother's deck and the Destiny Hero deck is mine," he said. "She gave it to me when the doctor said she would bedridden for the rest of her life," he continued, sighing softly.

Akiza hugged Erayon in an attempt to comfort him. "Erayon…" she said. "Smile. If you have the time to worry, you have the time to smile and the time to live your life."

Erayon smiled. "Thanks Akiza. I really needed that," he replied, hugging her as well, the two of them blushing in the other's embrace.

NOTES

Cyber Granmal is a level 2 DARK-Attribute Machine-type Tuner monster with 600 ATK and DEF points (original idea by myself). Eviator Dragon is a level 5 DARK-Attribute Dragon-Type Tuner/Synchro Monster with 2050 ATK and 1300 DEF points (original idea by my friend Joanna/deathchaosgreymon from deviantART).


End file.
